The place where we are now connects the east and west cities, and the flow of people is very large. The conflict in front of the bookstore has attracted more and more people's attention.
As soon as Ji Zhifei said this, the servants of the Ji Mansion came over again and surrounded Jing Li and Boss Chang.
Boss Chang wanted to speak, but Jing Li stopped him and said, "What if I don't?"
This manuscript is not only his hard work, but also a record of his and Qin Zhao's daily life. No matter what, he would never associate with such a person.
Who knows what this guy is thinking.
Jing Li said, "I just submitted the manuscript to Mr. Chang, not sold it. So strictly speaking, the ownership of the manuscript does not belong to Mr. Chang, let alone you. What reason do you have to force me to hand it over to you?"
Ji Zhifei didn't expect that this seemingly delicate little beauty would be so courageous, and he felt even more itchy: "Are you done?"
Jing Li: “…”
"Have you just arrived in the city?" Ji Zhifei said leisurely, "Just because you contradicted me in public, I will let you go with me."
Jing Li: "Where are you going, to the government?"
If Ji Zhifei wanted to take him to the government office, Jing Li would not be afraid.
During the Mid-Autumn Festival last year, the prefect had invited Qin Zhao to a hot spring resort in the suburbs, and Jing Li had met the prefect at that time. The prefect was upright and admired Qin Zhao, and Jing Li believed that he would definitely not encourage such bullying.
Of course, I didn’t really want it to get to that point.
If the matter really gets to the government, it will cause trouble for Qin Zhao again.
Ji Zhifei also didn't want things to turn out like that.
Due to the strict supervision of the prefect, no powerful person in the city dared to break the law. Ji Zhifei was just using the bookstore incident to scare the little beauty. If he brought the matter to the prefect, he might not get any good results.
What's more, the master of the Gu family just came to Beijing not long ago and has not been in the capital for the past few days.
If something really happened, there would be no one to intercede for me.
Of course, Ji Zhifei was willing to let him go so simply.
He was just a young boy who appeared out of nowhere, but Ji Zhifei had hundreds of ways to make him stay.
Thinking of this, Ji Zhifei's smile deepened, and he said slowly: "Why bother to alert the government about such a small matter. The cause of this matter is that Chang Lao Er owed money to my gambling house and refused to pay it back. If you can pay back the money, not only the manuscript, but also this bookstore can be returned to you."
Jing Li asked: "How much money do I owe you?"
"The principal is three hundred taels, and it has been overdue for so many days. Now it is... one thousand two hundred taels."
Jing Li: “…”
I can't pay it back even if I sell it.
Jing Li subconsciously looked at Boss Chang, who shook his head and sighed.
This amount of money is definitely not something an ordinary citizen can afford. No wonder he had to use the bookstore to pay off his debts.
Jing Li said: "I don't have that much money."
"It doesn't matter if you don't have money. You can go to my gambling house and gamble it back." Ji Zhifei said, "I'll lend you the capital, and you can go to the gambling house and play with me. If you win, I will return the bookstore to you in its original state, and I won't make things difficult for you."
Jing Li fell silent.
With this luck, how could I possibly win
Jing Li remained silent, and Boss Chang said, "Master Ji, why don't you let me do it--"
"Shut up." Ji Zhifei spat, "Who the hell wants to bet with you?"
"What's wrong, little beauty? Are you scared?" Ji Zhifei said with a smile, "It doesn't matter if you don't want to, but I advise you to think carefully. After all, you still want to continue selling books in the capital, right, Mr. Zhaoli?"
While they were talking, the servants of the Ji Mansion were still smashing things in the bookstore. People were pointing and talking, Ji Zhifei was arrogant, and Boss Chang lowered his head, his hands holding the bundle trembling slightly.
Jing Li closed his eyes and said, "Okay, I promise you."
Ji Zhifei raised his eyebrows slightly.
Jing Li said: "Not today, you have to give me a few days."
"Okay." Ji Zhifei said, "How about just three days? Come to my casino to find me during these three days. I'll be there for you any time."
Jing Li: "Okay."
Ji Zhifei walked to Jing Li and raised his hand to touch Jing Li's face, but was dodged. Ji Zhifei was not annoyed, and smiled and said, "I advise you not to play any tricks, otherwise I can't guarantee that things won't get worse."
After saying that, Ji Zhifei waved his hand and said, "Let's go, let's go home."
All the people from the Ji family left, and the crowd around them quickly dispersed. Jing Li helped Boss Chang back into the bookstore.
The bookstore had been mostly destroyed, and all that was visible was a mess. Jing Li helped Boss Chang sit down at the counter, then turned around and closed the door.
"Mr. Zhaoli, you shouldn't have agreed to this." Boss Chang sighed.
Jing Li said: "It doesn't matter. If I win, I can help you win back the store."
Boss Chang shook his head: "This matter is not as simple as you think."
Jing Li was stunned.
Recalling the strange look of Boss Chang when he came to the store a few days ago, he asked, "Is there any hidden story behind this?"
"Now that things have come to this, I will tell you the truth." Boss Chang said, "This is not the first time that Young Master Ji has come to my store."
"This bookstore has a great location. The Ji family has taken a fancy to this place and wants to buy it and open a cloth shop."
"But this shop is an heirloom of my family, and I refuse to sell it. The Ji family has sent people to lobby me many times, using threats and inducements. I have been tired of dealing with them these days, so I thought about closing the shop for a while and hiding back in my hometown."
Jing Liming came over and said, "So you were going to leave when I came to see you?"
"Yes." Boss Chang nodded. "At that time, I thought that after all, we had been in a stalemate with the Ji family for so long, it would not hurt to delay for a few days, so..."
Seeing that Jing Li looked upset, he hurriedly said, "Sir, don't blame yourself. This matter is all my fault. Now I'm involving you because I was not thoughtful enough."
Jing Li asked: "What about your brother?"
"I don't know where it is."
Boss Chang sighed heavily again: "When that bastard heard that the Ji family was willing to sell the shop for a high price, he tried to persuade me to give in. I refused, so he sent Xi out of the city and forced him to go back to his hometown to hide. I don't know what went wrong in the process, but it's probably because Ji Zhifei found Xi and used some tricks to make things like this."
"The IOU that Ji Zhifei brought is indeed my brother's handprint. Even if I go to the government, I won't be able to explain it."
"Why is this so..."
Judging from the situation, it was most likely that Chang Lao Er secretly ran back and acted out this drama together with Ji Zhifei.
Although he knew that Boss Chang's biological brother had never achieved much, Jingli never expected that he was such a traitor.
Jing Li looked at Boss Chang's miserable appearance and sighed in his heart.
Boss Chang has been in business for many years and has always been an honest man. Now he just wants to protect the shop left by his parents, but he has suffered such an unexpected disaster for no reason. It is really unfair.
Moreover, if it weren't for helping him, I wouldn't have ended up like this.
There was a moment of silence in the bookstore. Boss Chang sighed and said, "In short, you shouldn't be involved in this matter. I will go to Ji's house later and ask Ji Zhifei to let you go."
"It's not that easy." Jing Li said, "Ji's original target was this shop. There's no reason for him to give us a chance to turn the tables. He made a bet with me just to find a chance to get close to me."
"Even if I don't agree, you will still find other ways. It's impossible for you to give up so easily."
These things, I had already thought clearly when Jing Li agreed. Judging from the current situation, even if I know that Ji Zhifei has other intentions, I can't back down.
Otherwise, I will never be able to live in peace in the future.
"So what should we do now?" asked Boss Chang.
Jing Li raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "Boss Chang, don't worry, I have a way, your shop will not be lost."
Jing Li spent quite some time in the bookstore today and it was almost noon when he returned home.
Walking into the yard, he saw from afar that the door of the study was wide open, Gu Heng was sitting at the table, but there was no sign of Qin Zhao.
Jing Li thought for a moment, walked to the study door, and poked his head in: "Mr. Gu."
Gu Heng was concentrating on reading. He looked up when he heard the words: "Master's wife is back?"
"Hush." Jing Li quickly raised his hand to his lips, glanced into the study, and asked in a low voice, "Is Qin Zhao not here?"
The young master obviously didn't know why he was like that, and instinctively lowered his voice and said, "The teacher has gone into the room to rest. He asked me to review these two articles a few times and then come out to test me later."
"Oh..." Jing Li nodded and walked into the study room with confidence, "How are you reviewing?"
"I have memorized it by heart." Gu Heng said proudly, "The county exam is coming up in a few days. If you haven't memorized it by now, you won't make it. Wait for my good news."
Jing Li nodded and asked, "By the way, I want to ask you something."
"What's up?"
"Do you know the young master of the Ji family?"
"Ji Zhifei?" Gu Heng seemed a little unhappy when he mentioned this name. "I know him, what's wrong?"
Jing Li hummed, not knowing where to start.
"Did Ji Zhifei offend you?" Gu Heng said, "That bastard is just a playboy. I have long disliked him. It's just that my father values your father, so I didn't bother with you. Don't worry, Master's wife, if he dares to offend you, I will definitely help you!"
Jing Li waved his hands quickly: "No, I was just asking around. I heard that you opened a gambling house?"
"Yes, the biggest gambling house in the west of the city is managed by his family. Not only that, but my father has also invested a considerable amount of money in it secretly. Why are you asking about this?" Gu Heng paused and subconsciously looked outside the door.
Seeing that there was no one in the yard, Gu Heng lowered his voice and said, "You want to go to the casino? I can take you there!"
"But I... I can't play that."
"What's the big deal? I can teach you." Gu Heng said, "To be honest, I've been reading so much lately that I'm almost going crazy. It's a good opportunity to relax."
"Although I'm not as good as you, sir, I'm more than capable of playing with you!"
Jing Li's eyes lit up: "Okay, let's—"
"Good what?"
A voice came from outside the door. The expressions of the two people in the room froze and they turned their heads to look at the same time.
Qin Zhao stood by the door, his eyebrows slightly raised: "Where are you going?"